The Night it Rained
by Melissa Brooks
Summary: Todd tries to save Marty when he finds her in the park. Will she save him in return?
1. Chapter 1

The night it rained

_AN: I do not own the characters depicted in this story, they belong to "One Life to Live." The following story is written for a means of entertainment only. _

The rain was coming down so hard that Marty could barely see the road ahead of her. The lights all seemed to blur together and her tears just added to the blurry mess. She would have called John, but he was no longer speaking with her since she told him the truth about Natalie. She had lost so much and she had never felt more alone. She sat in her car for a little bit trying to come up with a course of action but the rain distracted her and pulled her thoughts to another place and another time. It had been raining when Todd Manning and his frat brothers had raped her. With every storm since that night she had to fight her demons. Every flash of lightning, every thunderous clap threatened to destroy everything that she had fought so hard to overcome and she would find herself drowning in memories of the worst night of her life. Tonight was no different, and she tried to focus on other things while she watched the rain fall out her window, but her thoughts always returned to that dark night.

Marty got out of her car; she couldn't sit there and watch the rain fall any longer; she had to keep busy so that she could make it through this storm. When she got out of her car she realized that she was at Llantana River Park. She decided that she would go for a walk around the river. Walking had always helped her clear her mind and she could use this time to figure out a way that she could survive losing Cole to prison. All she had thought about for so long was getting revenge on Natalie. Nothing else had mattered to her. She thought that she would feel better once the truth about Natalie was out, but she didn't she felt worse. Natalie's pain didn't make her pain any better. When Natalie had finally lost everything the way that she had, Marty's pain only intensified as she realized that the person she blamed most for Cole's predicament was herself. She was a therapist; she should have seen the signs. She should have gotten Cole help before it was too late, but she hadn't and now they were all suffering the consequences.

Marty picked up the pace into a jog to keep warm. Her body felt chilled as the frost of the February night air settled in on her. She ran until she got a cramp in her sides and then she stopped and looked around at the surrounding scenery. She looked out at the river as she waited for her breathing to regulate so that she could start moving again. She was suddenly grabbed from behind. They placed their hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream and dragged her into the surrounding trees.

Todd got in his car, he needed time to think, to calm himself before he made anything worse. He had walked in on Dani and Nate in bed together, just like he had walked in on Starr and Cole in bed together. Dani swore that nothing had happened between her and Nate, but he couldn't believer her. Starr swore the same thing and it turned out to be a lie. That one night had changed their lives forever and bound him to the one person who hated him most. It took every ounce of willpower that he had not to beat Nate into a bloody mess the way that he had beaten Cole. He wanted to kill him but Dani would never forgive him. She wasn't like Starr, he had worked so hard to get Dani to love him and couldn't afford to lose his temper. The cost would be too high a price to pay, so instead he walked out of the house, and got in his car and drove.

He ended up driving past Llantana River Park when he saw Marty Saybrook's car sitting in the parking lot. He kept driving but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something wasn't right so he turned around and parked his car next to hers. He would never forgive himself if anything else happened to her. He had hurt her on a night like tonight and it was something that neither one of them could get past. He had made himself a promise years ago that he would look out for her so he got out of his car determined to find her and make sure that she was safe.

He walked down to the river where he heard a scream, a scream that broke his heart, a scream that he knew all too well. Marty was in trouble, she was screaming for somebody to help her. He followed the sounds of her screams into the trees surrounding the river and spotted them. Somebody was on top of her, they were hurting her.

Todd ran to her and pulled the man off and instantly recognized him as the no good son of a bitch Eddie Ford. He hated him almost as much as he hated himself. Eddie held a knife in his hands and it was covered with blood, Marty's blood. Eddie swung the knife at Todd, but he didn't care. Todd lunged at him and wrestled him to the ground. Eddie was knocked unconscious from the force of hitting his head on the ground. Todd should've walked away and let Eddie rot in prison for what he did to Marty, but he couldn't trust the legal system. He knew that he had gotten off free even when he was guilty as sin. Eddie wouldn't walk away without paying. Marty deserved justice and Todd was determined to give it to her. Todd picked up the knife that was lying on the ground next to Eddie.

"Todd don't. He's not worth it," Marty called but Todd couldn't hear her. He couldn't hear anything, everything had gone red, as red as Marty's blood on the knife that he held in his hands. The bastard had hurt Marty and didn't deserve to live so Todd plunged the knife into Eddie's chest over and over again.

Marty tried to stand up but her side hurt so bad. She needed to get to Todd and make him stop before he killed Eddie but her vision was going in and out as she fought to stay conscious. It was too hard, there was too much pain and she was too tired. She couldn't stay awake and she couldn't stop Todd from killing Eddie. She made one final effort to stand up but lost the battle as she passed out from the pain.

Todd looked down and realized that Eddie was dead and had been dead for quite some time. He laid down the knife and rolled Eddie over to the river bank and watched as the current swept Eddie's body downstream. He picked up the bloody knife and threw it in the river.

He looked around and saw Marty lying unconscious on the ground. He took out his phone and called the paramedics as he ran to her side, there was so much blood and her pulse was so weak. He cradled her in his arms as he waited for the paramedics to arrive. Marty's shirt had been torn open and Todd knew that Eddie had disgraced her. He covered her in his jacket and cradled her in his arms as he cried. He was too late; he wasn't there in time to save her. Eddie had disgraced her and if she died now, he would never make it up to her. He would never get the one thing that he had fought so hard for, the one thing that he knew he didn't deserve, the one thing that he couldn't stop himself from wanting no matter how much he had tried – her forgiveness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Todd paced around the hospital waiting room. They had taken Marty to surgery to repair the damage that Eddie had left behind. John walked in the room, "Manning, we need to talk about Marty. I have a couple of questions for you. What were you doing with her at the park? How did she get hurt? What did you do to her?"

"I didn't to anything to hurt Marty unlike you. You played her for a fool with my niece Natalie right after she lost your child and then you shut her out of your life because she told you the truth about Natalie's lies. You have questions for me then you take it up with my lawyer otherwise I have nothing to say to you."

"I'm not going to let this go Manning. As soon as Marty is awake and out of surgery, I'm going to question her and I swear you'll pay if you had anything to do with hurting her."

"Well then, I have nothing to worry about. Marty knows that I would never hurt her again. Can you say the same?"

"Marty's doctors have informed me that she was raped tonight so if I find out that you had anything to do with that I'll kill you myself. Go home Manning, I think it would be in everyone's best interest; especially Marty's if you just left her alone. Natalie's at the park right now collecting all the evidence you left behind so consider yourself a suspect and don't leave town," John said as he left Todd alone.

Todd slunk in one of the chairs. He felt sick inside; he had hoped that he had stopped Eddie in time, but he didn't. Marty shouldn't have to go through this again. She didn't deserve this pain, she never had.

Todd sat down in the chair next to Marty's bed. He knew that he shouldn't be there but he couldn't leave without knowing that she was awake. She had survived the surgery, but she still hadn't woken up. He sat by her side for hours waiting for her to open her eyes and throw him out of her room and eventually fell asleep waiting.

Marty opened her eyes and saw Todd sleeping in the chair next to hers and felt a rush of overwhelming feelings hitting her all at once. Her feelings for Todd had always been complicated. She hated him; she loathed his very presence in her life, and yet there was something about him that had always touched her soul. She had felt compassion, gratitude, and even love for him at one time or another. Her feelings for him were so tangled up and now it was worse. He had killed a man with a rage that she understood all too well. "Todd, wake up. We need to talk," Marty said.

Todd opened his eyes and knew that his prayers had been answered. Marty was awake, she had made it through the night. "You're awake. I'm going to go find a doctor," Todd said as he begun to stand up.

"Wait. Don't go. We have to talk about what you did last night."

"What did Todd do last night? Did he hurt you?" John asked as he came walking into the room.

"Todd didn't hurt me. He saved my life. I was mugged last night and the attacker must have stabbed me before they got away," Marty stated.

"We should talk in private. I need to get a full statement from you about what happened."

"She just had surgery John, can't it wait. Don't you think she's been through enough without you interrogating her," Todd said.

"We can talk later, if you're too tired," John stated. Todd was right, Marty had been through enough and the last thing that he wanted to do was to make it worse for her, but he didn't have a choice. The sooner he questioned Marty, the sooner he could arrest the son of a bitch responsible for hurting her. John had been so angry with Marty when he found out that she had known the truth that Liam wasn't his son for months. Marty didn't say anything until his wedding day to Natalie and it killed him that Marty put her need for revenge above their friendship. He had felt so much anger and betrayal but now that she was hurt, he realized how much he still cared for her and the anger and the betrayal that he felt no longer seemed to matter.

"It's okay Todd. I'll answer John's questions. I'd rather get this over with anyways."

"Okay, I'll go talk to your doctor and let him know that you're awake," Todd said as he left.

"Tell me everything that you can remember about last night," John said as he pulled out a tape recorder.

"I went for a run in the park to try and clear my head. I was grabbed from behind. He placed his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet, so I bit his hand. I fought to get away and must have hit my head in the struggle. I must have passed out because the next thing I remembered was Todd applying pressure towards my wounds. I tried to stay awake but I couldn't so I passed back out," Marty said. She couldn't tell John the truth. She couldn't let Todd go to prison for killing Eddie. Whatever her feelings were for Todd, she couldn't let him go to prison for trying to protect her so she decided to leave as many details out as she could in case she needed to change her story at a later time.

"Did you see who attacked you?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think so. I'm sorry John; I don't know who attacked me."

"I think that's enough questions for today. I'll let you get your rest," John said as he shut the tape recorder off. "Marty, I'm sorry that I shut you out of my life the way that I did. I shouldn't have done that. I hope you know that I'll always care about you and I promise you that I'll find the person that hurt you," John said as he left Marty's room.

Marty closed her eyes. She hated lying to John but it was the only way. If John knew the truth then he would arrest Todd for killing Eddie Ford.

"Did John leave?" Todd asked as he walked back into Marty's hospital room.

"Yeah, he's gone. Todd sit down I need to talk to you."

Todd sat down in the chair by Marty's bed. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"First of all, I wanted to say thanks. If you hadn't shown up to the park then Eddie could have killed me."

"Please don't thank me. I didn't do enough. If only I had gotten there sooner. I'm sorry that Eddie hurt you."

"It's okay my wound will heal. There's another reason that I wanted to talk to you. You need to know what I told John so our stories can match. "

"Marty, what are you talking about? Didn't you tell John the truth? What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I was grabbed from behind and that I lost consciousness and didn't wake up again until you were there applying pressure to my wounds. I told him that I didn't know who attacked me? I want you to tell John that when you showed up in the park I was by myself. Tell them that when you saw me you realized I was hurt and that's when you called the cops. I don't think John has found Eddie's body yet so as long as our stories match you should be in the clear."

"You lied to John to protect me? Why? After all the pain that I caused you why would you care if I went to prison?"

"I have my reasons. I'm tired so I think that you should leave."

"I'm going to go. I need to talk to Tea and arrange a time to give my statement to the police. Whatever your reasons are for protecting me, thank you, but I want you to know that even if I go to prison I'll never regret killing Eddie Ford. The bastard deserved to die for hurting you the way that he did," Todd said then he walked out of the hospital room.


	3. Chapter 3

The Night it Rained 3

John went back to the park. Natalie and the other CSI agents were long gone. They had collected all the evidence, they could find, but unfortunately Natalie still didn't know who the attacker was. John's instincts told him that he was missing something. John wouldn't rest until the son of a bitch who had hurt Marty was locked up behind bars or dead, whichever one came first.

He went down to the river bank to see if he could see anything. It was dark out, but John swore that there was something washed up on the shore on the other side that didn't belong there. He walked around the river and saw a man lying with his face down. John turned him over to see if he was still alive, but he was dead.

He called Natalie up and told her to bring the Medical Examiner. John was certain that he had just found Marty's attacker, but how did he end up in the river?

-

Marty couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she could see Eddie Ford on top of her, she could smell his breath as he rammed his tongue down her throat, she could feel him restraining her arms. She felt so helpless and vulnerable. It wasn't fair she had already been through this before and it had almost killed her.

She needed a distraction, something to keep the unwanted memories away. She couldn't sleep anyways so she stayed up all night thinking of a plan that would save Todd from murder charges. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the body was found and she knew that John would begin to piece things together.

She called John and told him that she needed to see him right away.

"What is it Marty? What did you want to talk to me about?" John asked as he walked into the hospital room.

"I remember who attacked me? I remember more about what happened last night? It was Eddie Ford. We wrestled over the knife; I must have gotten stabbed in the process. I managed to get the knife away from him. I stabbed him. I killed Eddie Ford." Marty said putting the first phase of her plan into motion.

John spent hours grilling Marty about Eddie's death. There was something about Marty's confession that didn't add up, but her story hadn't changed. Marty had told him time and time again that Todd hadn't shown up until she had already disposed of Eddie's body.

He knew it was a long shot, but he had to question Todd to see if he would come forward with any new evidence that would clear Marty. The Medical Examiners report had come in and Eddie Ford was stabbed sixty times which meant he couldn't get Marty off on self defense. If he didn't find evidence to clear her he would have to arrest her for murder.

John left Marty's bedside and went straight to Todd's. He pounded on the door until Todd answered. "God John, it's eight o'clock in the morning? What do you want?"

"I want to question you about the night Marty was attacked."

"I already told you, I don't know who attacked her and if you have any other questions then I suggest that you contact my lawyer."

"That's fine Manning, hide behind your lawyer while Marty goes to prison for murder," John stated hoping to get Todd's attention.

"What are you talking about?"

"We found Eddie Ford's body. Marty told me that she stabbed him after he attacked her."

"Marty told you that she stabbed Eddie Ford?" Todd questioned John. What the hell was Marty thinking?

"Marty didn't stab Eddie, I did. I lost it when I saw what he had done to her. I wanted to make him pay so I stabbed him."

"That's just what I wanted to hear, Todd, you're under arrest for the murder of Eddie Ford," John said as he placed the cuffs around Todd.


	4. Chapter 4

The Night it Rained 4

Marty laid in her bed contemplating her next step. She had only slept three hours in the last three days and the lack of sleep was beginning to get to her. Her sense of sound was beginning to become muffled and her sight was beginning to blur. She could only focus on what was right in front of her and her head ached as she tried to decipher the state of fogginess around her. She knew that she needed sleep, but every time she closed her eyes she felt violated all over again. She told herself that she would sleep later once she knew that Todd wouldn't go to prison for helping her. Right now he was her top priority.

John should have arrested her before now, but he was MIA and she had a bad feeling that something was wrong. She pulled out the IV's and began to get herself dressed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Doctor Kyle Lewis asked when he saw Marty out of bed.

"I'm checking myself out of here. There's something that I need to do."

"Whatever it is, it can wait. You're nowhere ready to be discharged."

"I don't care. I'll sign whatever papers are necessary, but I got to go."

"Wait, before you go there's something that I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Your HIV test came back positive. I'm sorry."

"So that son of a bitch was HIV positive," Marty stated. She couldn't believe her luck. First she was raped again and now she was sick because of him. She felt crushed as she realized that she would have to deal with what Eddie had done to her for the rest of her life. She couldn't deal with her emotions and anger, it was too much. She had to focus on Todd. She would deal with the fallout later.

"Do you want to go somewhere where we can talk?" Kyle asked.

"I can't right now, I really got to go."

"Okay, but do me a favor and take it easy. You've been through an ordeal, you need time to heal."

"Okay I promise. Bye Doctor Lewis. Give Fish my best," Marty said as she walked out the door.

Marty called a cab and had it take her to the police station. When she couldn't get hold of Todd, she called Tea. She didn't like Tea very much mainly because she was Todd's fiancée, but she was a dam good lawyer and could help her and Todd beat whatever legal troubles were headed their way.

-

Todd sat in his cell. He had already been processed and was waiting for his arraignment. John had tried to get his confession on tape, but he refused to say anything further until his lawyer got there. He wanted to talk to Marty and let her know that he would take care of everything, but he only got one phone call and he had used it on calling Tea.

-

Marty walked into the police station and saw Officer Brody Lovett sitting at his desk. "Marty, what are you doing here? Do you want me to grab John?"

"No, I want to turn myself in for stabbing Eddie Ford."

"You stabbed Eddie?"

"Yes I did."

"Marty, don't say another word," Tea said as she walked up to them. " Officer Lovett, you know better than to interrogate my client without legal representation."

"I wasn't interrogating her, your client confessed all on her own. Would you like a moment alone with your client before I take her statement?"

"Yes please," Tea stated.

Brody walked them to an interrogation room and then left Tea and Marty alone to talk.

"Were you able to get hold of Todd?" Marty asked.

"No, but he left me a message when I was on the phone with you. He's been arrested for stabbing Eddie Ford."

"Will they let him go once they have my confession on tape?"

"It shouldn't be a problem as long as they believe that you're the person responsible for Eddie Ford's death. I promise that I'll push for self defense, but I can't guarantee that you'll walk away from this. Are you sure that you want your confession to be publicly entered?" Tea asked.

"I do, just make sure that Todd is released as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll bring Brody in here and you can give your statement. Tell them exactly what I told you to tell them when we spoke on the phone and nothing else."

"It's okay Tea, I know what to say," Marty said as Tea left to get Brody.

-

Brody pressed the record button on the tape recorder and sat across from Marty.

"So let's start at the beginning. Just tell me everything you remember about the night you were attacked," Brody coached.

"I was jogging in the park when I was grabbed from behind. He placed his hand over my mouth so that I couldn't scream. He pushed me to the ground and lowered himself on top of me. He had a knife in his hand and I couldn't move. After he raped me, I saw an opening to get the knife away from him so I took it. We wrestled over the knife and I ended up getting stabbed in the process. I bent his hand back and was able to get the knife. I begged him not to move as I got out my phone so that I could call the police, but he charged right at me and I had no other choice but to stab him."

"How many times did you stab him?"

"I'm not sure, I blacked out. The next thing I remember I was holding the bloody knife in my hand and Eddie was dead. I was scared and didn't want to get in trouble, so I rolled Eddie down the hill and dumped his body in the river. I threw the knife in the river as well. I crawled back up the hill and passed out. When I had regained consciousness again Todd was there. He called the police and then I was taken to the hospital."

"Todd and your stories differ greatly. Todd told John Mcbain that he was the one who stabbed Eddie. Why do you think he would say that unless it was true?"

"Todd has huge guilt issues about raping me. I suppose that he is trying to make up for hurting me by taking the blame for something I did. I don't like Todd for obvious reasons, but I can't let him go to prison for a crime I committed."

"Okay Marty, I think that I have everything I need," Brody said as he turned off the tape recorder. "Marty Saybrook you're under arrest for the murder of Eddie Ford," Brody said as he grabbed Marty's arms so that he could put the cuffs around them.

Marty's mind began playing tricks on her. Brody's face had turned into Eddie's and all Marty could see was him coming towards her. When Brody grabbed Marty's arm she swung her hands at him furiously, scratching his face in the process, so that she could get away. "Don't touch me Eddie, don't ever touch me again or I'll kill you," Marty stated.

Brody took a step away from Marty. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise," he stated as he placed his hands in the air.

"It's okay Marty. You're safe," Tea stated hoping that she could calm Marty before she made things any worse for herself. "

Eddie's face had turned back into Brody's and Marty realized what she had done. She was filled with sudden remorse. "I'm sorry Brody, I didn't mean to hurt you," Marty stated as she tried to keep her voice from breaking. She was very tired and was having a hard time deciphering what was real.

"It's okay. Marty, if I hand you the cuffs will you place them around your wrists for me?"

Brody handed Marty the cuffs as he finished reading the Miranda rights to her.

Marty placed the cuffs around her wrists and slunk in the corner. She was so very tired and couldn't focus on anything or anybody right now.

"Are you going to press charges for what Marty did to you?" Tea asked.

"No, she's been through enough. I'll cut her a break," Brody stated. There were days he hated doing his job and today was one of them. If it was up to him he would give Marty a medal for killing Eddie Ford, but instead he had to arrest her.

"After Marty's been processed I want her to be seen by a therapist," Tea stated.

"Okay, I'll start the paperwork. Come on Marty, let's get you processed."

Marty got to her feet and followed Brody out of the interrogation room.

-

Todd sat on the floor of his jail cell when he heard footsteps coming his way. He stood up hoping that it was Tea coming to get out of there. He knew he was wrong when he saw Marty shackled like a dam animal. She was walking with her head down and was being followed by Brody Lovett. "What is this? Marty didn't do anything wrong. I did," Todd stated.

"Shut up Manning," Brody stated as he closed Marty's cell shut and then walked away.

Marty finally looked up at Todd and he was haunted by the look in her eyes. It was a look he knew well; it was the look of fear and confusion. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked so fragile, so broken.


	5. Chapter 5

The Night it Rained 5

"What did you do Marty?" Todd asked.

"What?" Marty asked. She was having a difficult time concentrating. Everything had become muffled and Marty felt like her head was under water.

"What did you do?" Todd asked again.

"I confessed to killing Eddie so that they would let you go," Marty said as she looked at the floor of her cell.

"I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself for me. I killed Eddie, and there is no way in hell I'm going to let you go to prison for something that I did."

"I'm not going to go to prison and either are you. I know what I'm doing Todd. "If you care about me at all you'll let it play out," Marty said as she finally made eye contact with Todd.

"I would do anything for you Marty, but I won't let you self-destruct for me."

"I won't be your problem after tonight."

"Todd, we have to get you to your arraignment," Tea said as she walked in on Todd and Marty's conversation. It was obvious that Todd still loved Marty, by the way that he was looking at her. Tea had always felt like an invisible third wheel when she was in the room with them.

Although she was determined to give Marty the best defense possible, there was a jealous side to her that wanted Marty to be convicted so that Todd could finally stop obsessing over her and focus on other things.

"I'm sorry Marty, but you're arraignment couldn't be scheduled until tomorrow. You'll have to spend the night in jail."

"It's okay Tea. I figured as much."

"It's not too late Marty. You can still tell Brody that you made up the whole thing to protect me.

"I've already made up my mind and there's nothing that you can say or do to change it."

"We'll see about that," Todd said as Tea pulled him away.

"Goodbye Todd," Marty stated as he left with Tea. Todd shivered...there was a finality in her tone that made it seem like she was saying goodbye forever.

Marty stared at the wall. This was going to hurt like hell, but it had to be done. She began to bang her forehead as hard as she could against the wall. She could feel the blood oozing down her face and then everything went dark.

-

When John arrived at the police station, Brody filled him in on Marty's confession and arrest.

"She didn't do it Brody. She's not a killer."

"I know that John, but I had to arrest her..she confessed."

"I'm not blaming you Brody; we just have to find a way to clear her. Will you call Natalie and tell her to compare the evidence that she collected against Marty's statement?"

"Of course. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go check on Marty."

-

"Marty!" John screamed as he saw her lying unconscious on the floor. Her blood was all over the wall and the floors.

"Somebody help me," John stated. "Please be alive," John pleaded with her as he held her in his arms.

She had a pulse, but it was fading fast.


	6. Chapter 6

"Come on Marty...stay with me ," John pleaded as he applied pressure to her head. There was so much blood and her pulse was very weak. "She's in here!" John screamed when he heard footsteps coming.

"I'm coming with you," John stated as the EMT's loaded her onto a stretcher.

"You'll want to make sure that you're tested at the hospital since you've come in contact with contaminated blood," Mark the EMT stated as he looked at Marty's chart.

"Contaminated blood?"

"You'll want to be tested for HIV," Mark stated as he continued to monitor Marty's vital signs.

When they arrived at the hospital the doctors rushed her into an examination room and left John standing in the waiting room covered in her blood. Marty was HIV Positive? Is that why she tried to kill herself?

John sat down. He felt numb and useless...he loved Marty and the thought of losing her was like a knife through his heart. They were no longer together because he had driven her away when she had needed him the most. He had failed her after she miscarried their child but he would not fail her now.

He pulled out his phone and began to dial.

XOXOXO

Tea had just gotten out of court where the charges against Todd were dismissed when her phone rang.

"Hello...is Marty okay?" Tea asked into her phone.

"Tea, what's going on with Marty?" Todd asked but Tea held up her hand in a motion to silence Todd.

"I'll be right there...thanks for letting me know."

"Tea, what's going on with Marty?"

"Marty tried to kill herself tonight."

"What?" Todd asked. "How? Where? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know Todd. Lisen, I've got to get to the hospital...can you get home by yourself?"

"Hell no, I'm not going home...I'm going with you to see Marty."

"I don't know if that's a good idea Todd."

"I don't care what you think Tea. This is all your fault. How could you let Marty confess for something that we both know that she didn't do? If anything happens to her...I promise that I'll make you pay."

"I didn't do anything wrong Todd. If you want to blame somebody then you blame your precious Marty...I don't have time to deal with your temper tantrums. I have to make it to the hospital and see my client."

XOXOXO

"How is she John? How's Marty?" Todd asked as soon as he spotted Todd.

"Why did you bring him along?" John asked Tea.

"He was with me when I got the call about Marty. How is she John?"

"I don't know...the doctors haven't said anything yet."

"How's Marty?" John asked when he spotted Doctor Kyle Lewis walking her way.

"She's going to make a recovery, but I'm placing her on a 48 hour psych watch."

"Excellent...I'm Tea Delgado, Marty's Attourney...and I would like the name of any Doctor that treats my client and full access to Marty's medical history." Tea stated.

"Can I go in and see her?" Todd whispered.

"Make it brief...she needs her rest." Kyle stated as he walked away.

"You better not upset her Todd," John called as Todd walked away.

Todd walked into Marty's hospital room and she was connected to all these monitors and tubes. Her head was bandaged and her wrists were restrained.

"Why Marty? Why would you hurt yourself?" Todd asked as he sat by Marty's side.

XOXOXO

"Why Marty? Why would you hurt yourself?" Todd asked as he cautiously grabbed her hand.

"Just go home Todd, I know what I'm doing," Marty stated as she snatched her hand away.

"I'm not going anywhere, not until you tell me why you did this."

"I had to...nobody is going to believe that I killed Eddie in self defense. Don't you see Todd...Tea could use my emotional duress and instability to get me off."

"What? This is insane...what if John hadn't gotten there in time Marty? You could have killed yourself, all because you insist on taking the blame for something that I did. I'm not going to let you hurt yourself any longer...I'm telling John the truth."

"You can't Todd...my plan will work and we'll both get off for Eddie's murder. If you go to prison then I'll have nothing left."

"I'll make you a deal...I'll keep my mouth shut for now as long as you agree to come home with me and let me take care of you while you recover." Todd stated. Marty was really sick and it was obvious that she wasn't taking care of herself the way that she should and he was afraid of what would happen to her if he went to prison.

"I'll move in with you as soon as I am released on one condition."

"What's that?" Todd asked.

"I'll move in with you if you marry me."

XOXOXO

Natalie stared at the evidence in her hands. There was no way that Marty could have killed Eddie, the evidence just didn't support her story. The evidence told Natalie that Todd was the killer, but why was Marty protecting him?

Natalie sat down and thought about what she would do. She hated Marty for all the pain that she caused by lying about Liam's paternity. She hated how John was always preoccupied with saving her, despite the fact that she had kidnapped their child. She wanted her gone and she was in the perfect position to fabricate the evidence to support Marty's claim, but could she live with herself if she sent her to prison.

XOXOXO

"God, it's me...it's John Mcbain," he stated as he entered the hospital chapel.

"I know that it's been a long time, but I'm desparate here. I know that Marty is innocent, but I don't know how to save her when she's so determined to hurt herself. I would give anything if you can help me find a way of saving her, before it's too late," John stated as he crossed himself and lit a candle.

XOXOXO

You...you want to marry me?" Todd asked as he stared at Marty.

"Yes."

"Why would you want to marry me when I've done nothing but cause you pain? You've always hated me after what I did to you."

"I want to marry you because it's the only way that I can save you. If we get married then I won't have to testify against you if you're ever arrested for Eddie's murder. And for the record...I hate what you did to me, but I've never hated you. Despite everything I care about you and it would mean alot to me if you would marry me tonight."

"Okay Marty, I'll marry you. I'll set everything up and when you're released I'm going to take care of you," Todd stated as he kissed her on the top of her head and walked out of the room.

XOXOXO

Natalie sat down at the bar in Rodi's and drank shot after shot of Tequila as she held onto the evidence in her hands.

She pulled out her her phone and her hands trembled as she dialed John's number. "John, it's me Natalie. There's something really important that I need to show you, I'm at Rodi's," she stated and then she hung up the phone.

XOXOXO

"Tea, I'm glad that you're still here. There's something that I need to tell you," Todd stated as he spotted her as he left Marty's room.

"What is it? Did something happen with Marty?" Tea asked.

"Marty and I are getting married tonight and I need you to be there and be a witness."

"What? Is this some sick joke? You and I...we are engaged to get married so how could you expect me to sit by and watch you marry her?" Tea asked.

"Tea, Marty and I's marriage won't be real...it can't be. We're getting married so that we won't be forced to testify against one another. Please tell me that you understand."

"I understand, but I just want to know one thing and I want you to be honest with me."

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Are you still in love with Marty?"

XOXOXO

"Are you still in love with Marty?" Tea asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter...it doesn't change anything," Todd whispered after a couple of minutes of silence.

Tea stepped closer to Todd and slapped him across the face. "Of course it matters. I should have known...you're never going to be over her."

"It doesn't matter how I feel. Marty and I will never have a real marriage. She doesn't love me...she can't forgive me and even if she could, I could never forgive myself. It's the price that I have to pay for hurting her."

"Did I ever mean anything to you or was I just the women you settled for?" Tea asked.

"Of course you mean something to me Tea. I do love you."

"But you're not in love with me, at least not the way that you love Marty."

"Marty's my first love...I've tried to get over her, but I can't change the way that I feel."

"I can't change the way that I feel either. You need to find another witness because I just...I just can't do it," Tea stated as she walked away.

XOXOXO

"What do you need to show me? Did you find proof that Marty is innocent?" John asked as he sat down next to Natalie.

Natalie took another drink from her shot glass. Marty was the only thing John ever talked about. He still cared about her even after all the pain that she had caused. "Your precious Marty is far from the saint that you think she is. She's guilty, she stabbed Eddie Ford over and over again until he died and here is the proof," Natalie stated as she handed over the fabricated evidence that she had doctored.

XOXOXO

"Are you ready to get married?" Todd asked as he stepped back into the hospital room and handed Marty a bag.

"What's this?" Marty asked.

"Just open it," Todd encouraged.

Marty opened the bag and pulled out a simple, but elegant white Wedding Dress.

"It's beautiful," Marty gasped. "Thank you Todd.

"Hey Marty, I can help you get dressed if you would like," Starr stated as she walked into the room.

"That would be great Starr."

"I'll see you girls in the hospital chapel in a couple of minutes," Todd stated as he stepped out of the room and took a deep breath. He was so close to getting everything that he had ever wanted and he was so afraid that something would happen to sabotage his wedding day.


	7. Chapter 7

"This can't be...I was certain that Todd was the one who had killed Eddie," John stated as he stared at the doctored evidence in front of him.

"I've been trying to tell you for months. Marty's a psychotic and dangerous women. She needs to be locked up somewhere where she can't hurt anybody," Natalie ranted as she took another drink.

"Marty's been through a terrible ordeal, she doesn't deserve to be punished Natalie," John stated as he stood up and walked away from Natalie.

John had always believed that a good cop followed his instincts despite the evidence and right now his instincts were telling him that something was terribly wrong with the evidence. He knew Marty and he just simply couldn't believe that she was capable of stabbing Eddie to death. He had to find a way to clear her name.

XOXOXO

Todd stood at the alter next to Reverend Carpenter and gasped as Marty followed Starr down the aisle. Her hair was up in an elegant twist and she had never looked so beautiful.

Marty tried her hardest not to flinch as Todd grabbed her hand. She knew that she would have to be affectionate towards Todd and to even kiss him so that the ceremony would look real. She knew in her heart that she was safe with him, but she still flinched as he grabbed her hand as images of Eddie touching her bombarded her mind.

Todd could see the fear in Marty's eyes as he grabbed her hand and he felt sick. He hated Eddie for hurting Marty and damaging her and he hated himself far worse then he could hate anybody. He would do anything to take her pain away from her and somehow he would find a way to help her and to make her smile again.

"Do you Todd Manning promise to honor and cherish Marty in sickness and in health, to place her above all others for the rest of your life?" Andrew asked.

"I do. Please take this ring as a token of my love and comittment to you," Todd stated as he placed the ring on Marty's trembling hand.

"Do you Marty Saybrooke take Todd as your lawfully wedded husband, in good times and in bad, placing him above all others for the rest of your lives?"

"I do...please take this ring as a token of my love and devotion," Marty stated as she placed the ring onto Todd's finger.

"Does anybody have any reason to object to this union?" Andrew asked.

"By the power invested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

Todd slowly pulled Marty closer to him and gave her a brief, gentle and passionate kiss and even though her entire body was shaking with nerves, she felt a little sad when the kiss had ended.

XOXOXO

"So what now?" Marty whispered as the kiss ended.

"I kept up my part of the bargain, so now you got to keep up yours. I'm going to take you home with me and take care of you," Todd stated.

"I can't go home with you tonight."

"Why the hell not?" Todd asked as he let go of Marty's trembling hands.

"I'm still under police custody and I still have to be seen by a psychiatrist," Marty stated.

"Well, I'll call Tea, there's got to be something that she can do so that I can take you home," Todd stated as he pulled out his phone.

"It's already been taken care of," Tea stated as she walked into the room.

"I can go home with Todd?" Marty asked.

"I met with a judge and he agreed to grant you bail if you post a million dollars, cash not bond. I also spoke with your doctors and they agreed to release you for the night, but you'll be required to come back in the morning at nine a.m. for your psychiatric evaluation," Tea explained.

"Thanks Tea. I know that couldn't have been easy for you," Todd stated.

"I'm a lawyer first and foremost and you and Marty are still my clients, besides I'd do anything for you. Post Marty's bail and take your wife home," Tea stated as she teared up.

"I'll see you in the morning," Marty stated as she walked away towards Reverend Carpenter and Starr.

"Thanks so much for marrying us, I know that couldn't have been easy for you," Marty stated as she shook Andrew's hand.

"I just want you to be happy Marty."

"Thanks for coming Starr. I really appreciate you agreeing to be a witness."

"Your welcome Marty, I've never seen my dad happier then he is right now and I know that a big part of that is due to you," Starr stated as she leaned in and hugged Marty.

"Marty, I've paid your bail, let's go home," Todd stated as he held his hand out for her.

"Okay," Marty stated as she placed her hand in his.

XOXOXO

"What's going on John?" Anna Devane asked as soon as she opened her door and saw him standing there in the rain.

"I need your help," John stated as he walked into her house and sat down on the couch. "I need you to double check the forensic evidence of one of my cases and I need you to tell me if any of the evidence has been tampered with."

"I can do that...do you suspect that the Forensics agent tampered with the evidence somehow?" Anna asked as she sat down next to John.

"I don't want to believe it, but my instincts are telling me that Natalie is lying to me. I know Marty and I can't believe that she killed Eddie Ford."

"You love her, don't you?" Anna asked.

"Natalie...god no, I care about her, but I don't love her. What we had ended a long time ago."

"Not Natalie, You're in love with Marty aren't you?"

"Yeah, I think I am, but I've hurt her and I don't think she'll ever forgive me."

"She might if you clear her name. I'll double check the evidence for you John, but you owe me," Anna stated.

XOXOXO

"Home sweet home," Todd stated as he opened the front door and turned on all the lights. "You look tired, and it's been a long day, let's go to bed," Todd stated as he headed up the stairs.

"You can sleep in this," Todd stated as he opened up the drawer and handed Marty her old nightgown that he had bought her when she last lived with him.

"You kept this?" Marty asked.

"Yeah, after you left...I just couldn't part with it...It was all that I had left of you."

"I'll go and change," Marty stated as she grabbed the nightgown from Todd, feeling the electricity as their fingers briefly touched.

Marty headed into the bathroom. She removed her dress and put on the nightgown as she remembered the day that Todd had first given it to her. She had loved him so much back then...she still loved him, but things had always been complicated between them and she wasn't sure if they would ever be able to have a real marriage.

Marty opened the door and climbed into bed.

"Goodnight Marty," Todd stated as he began to head out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Marty asked.

"I thought that you would be more comfortable if I slept in my room down the hall."

"We need to make our marriage seem real which means we can't have separate bedrooms."

"Are you sure? It wouldn't make you feel uncomfortable?"

"I don't want to be alone."

"Okay, I'll sleep on the chair," Todd stated as he grabbed a spare blanket and tried to get comfortable on the chair.

"It's a big bed...I can share it with you," Marty stated as she scooted over and made room for Todd.

Todd climbed into bed and shut off the lights. "Good night Marty," he whispered.

"Good night Todd," Marty stated as she closed her eyes, hoping that the nightmares wouldn't come.

XOXOXO

_"You thought that you could escape me, but, I won't let you," she heard him say._

She tried to move, but she couldn't. She was frozen by her fear...he was coming for her and when he found her then she knew that he would really make her pay.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," he called as he opened the door. He was covered in blood as he staggered towards her carrying the bloody knife in his hand. "You are mine forever," he stated as he grabbed her roughly and plunged the knife into her heart.

Todd woke up to the sound of screaming. "Marty...it was just a bad dream," he stated.

"Where is he?" Marty asked as she sat up in bed and looked around the room.

"Where is who?" Todd asked fighting his urge to take her in his arms and wipe away her tears. Despite how much he wanted to comfort her, touching her would be the worst thing that he could do.

"Eddie was here...he had a knife, he stabbed me," Marty stammered as tears streamed down her face.

"It was just a bad dream. Eddie's never going to hurt you again. You're safe here with me. Close your eyes and go back to sleep. I won't let anything happen to you," Todd promised.

"I can't...if I close my eyes then I'll see him again. He's always going to haunt me...I'm never going to be able to sleep," Marty whimpered.

"Yes you will, once I teach you the secret of sleeping when you're scared."

"What secret?" Marty asked. She was desperate and tired enough to try anything.

"When I was in prison, the first week was complete hell. I was too scared to go to sleep at night, but I had a roommate that slept through anything. I used to watch him sleep, he looked so peaceful and I wondered why he wasn't afraid like I was, so one day I worked up the nerve and I asked him how he could sleep in that hell hole."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the nighttime was the only time that he was free. He told me that when he closed his eyes at night he thought about the place where he had been the most happiest. He told me that if I wanted a good night's sleep that all I had to do was close my eyes and imagine up a world where I could be free."

"I don't know if such a world exists for me," Marty stated.

"Sure it does, but I'll share my happy place with you until you create your own. Close your eyes and listen to my description."

Todd watched as Marty closed her eyes.

"You're standing on a beach looking out on the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean. It's completely peaceful and quiet and then you feel the embrace of the person that loves you most. You know that you are completely safe with them and you let yourself get lost in their love."

"Marty?" Todd asked to see if she was still awake. "I hope that you can feel how much I love you," he added when she didn't respond. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead as he covered her up with blankets.

XOXOXO

When Marty woke up, she was completely alone. "Todd?" Marty called out.

"Hey, how did you sleep?" Todd asked as he came in carrying a tray of French Toast and Bacon.

"It was the best night of sleep that I've had since..." Marty looked away...she couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'm glad that you were able to sleep. Are you hungry?" Todd asked.

The sight and smell of the food made her stomach twist and turn. She was so nauseous and the last thing that she wanted to think about was food, but she didn't want to hurt Todd's feelings after he had gone to the trouble of making them breakfast. "A little bit," she lied as she dished up a tiny plate of food.

She ate a couple of bites of French Toast and Bacon and then pushed her plate away. "I'm going to go shower since we have to meet Tea soon, Marty stated as she headed into the bathroom.

She took a shower and was getting dressed when the bout of nauseousness was too much to handle and she threw up in the toilet over and over again.

"Oh god...it can't be," Marty said to herself as she realized that she hadn't had her period since she was raped.


	8. Chapter 8

"Marty? Are you okay in there?" Todd asked as he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yeah, I'll be right out," Marty stated as she stood up and rinsed her mouth out with water. She had to be mistaken...she couldn't be pregnant on top of everything else that she was dealing with. She flushed the toilet and walked out of the room.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked Todd as she gazed at his worried eyes.

"Yeah...let's go," Todd stated.

They rode to the hospital in silence as Marty stared out her window. "Are you sure that you're okay?" Todd asked. She looked pale, tired and scared and he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how.

"I'm fine Todd," Marty stated as she tried her best to force a smile for his sake.

"No, you're not...please tell me what's going on."

"We're here Todd...we have to meet Tea and my therapist," Marty stated as she climbed out of the car and headed into the hospital.

"Hey Marty," Tea stated as soon as she saw her walking into the hospital entrance. "Doctor Ray Martinez is waiting for you in his office," Tea explained.

"Ray Martinez?"

"Yeah, he contacted me last night and informed me that he wanted to take your case."

"How did he even know that-"

"I called him," Todd interrupted. "He's the only therapist besides you that I trust."

"I'll be out in a little bit," Marty stated as she took a deep breath and walked into Ray's office.

"Hello Marty, it's good to see you again. Please have a seat and we can get started," Ray stated as he smiled at her. "I need to know the truth Marty...did you kill Eddie Ford or are you covering for Todd?"

XOXOXO

"I need to know the truth Marty, did you kill Eddie Ford or are you covering for Todd?" Ray asked as he sat down in the chair that was facing Marty.

"Eddie wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for me," Marty replied.

"That's not what I asked. Marty you know that anything you tell me is just between the two of us. Did Todd kill Eddie?"

"Yes," Marty whispered as she looked at the floor.

"Why do you feel the need to protect Todd after everything that you've been through?"

"I don't know...maybe it's because we've been through so much together, but I need to protect him."

"Even if that means hurting yourself in the process."

"Even then...Todd killed Eddie because of me, so I have to do everything that I can to save him."

"Do you love him?"

"I...I don't know, my feelings for Todd exist somewhere in the hazy area between love and hate and I've never been able to sort through my feelings for him."

"Marty, why did you try and kill yourself? Do you blame yourself for what Eddie did to you?"

"I know that I shouldn't blame myself, but I can't help it. I must have done something to deserve it, maybe it's Karmic Justice for what I did to Natalie and John. I tried to kill myself because I don't matter, I have nothing left but pain, anger and resentment. I have a hard time sleeping and I'm scared all the time...I just thought that it would be better if I ended all the pain," Marty admitted.

"You're going to make it through this Marty. What happened wasn't your fault and I'm going to help you get through this."

"Are you going to have me committed?" Marty asked.

"Not at this point...I think that would do more harm then good but I want to see you three times a week. Is there anything else that you want to talk to me about?" Ray asked.

"Um...no, not right now," Marty stated.

"Okay, I'll see you in a couple of days," Ray stated as he shook her hand and walked her out.

"How did things go? Todd asked.

"It went fine," Marty stated as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Todd, I'll meet you at the car, I need to pick up something from the pharmacy."

"I can go with you," Todd offered.

"No...I just need a minute by myself," Marty stated as she walked away.

"What did you two talk about?" Todd asked as he turned towards Ray."

"Todd, I'm not going to break Doctor-Patient confidentiality."

"Can you at least tell me how I can help her?"

"Just be there for her and listen to her. Continue to make her feel safe and call me day or night if you need my help."

"Thanks Ray, I appreciate the help," Todd stated as he walked out to the car.

When Todd and Marty got home, she headed straight to the bathroom. She needed to know if she was pregnant. She stared at the test in her hands as she waited the three minutes until the little plus sign appeared in the window.

XOXOXO

Marty shivered as the little plus sign appeared in the window and revealed that she was pregnant with Eddie's child.

She threw the test in the garbage as she looked in the mirror and saw Eddie's reflection standing beside her. Logically she knew that he wasn't there... he couldn't be because he was dead, but that didn't stop her heart from racing and her body from shaking from the fear that seeing his haunting face had invoked in her.

"You're not real...go away," she whispered as she tried to calm herself down.

"I am real, a part of me is growing inside of you," she heard Eddie say as she watched his reflection wrap his arms around her and cradle her stomach.

"You're never going to be rid of me now. I'm going to be a part of your life forever," she heard him whisper as she felt his hot breath on her neck.

"I won't let that happen," Marty whispered as she ran out of the room.

XOXOXO

"Anna, did Natalie tamper with the evidence?" John asked as he took a bite out of his bagel.

Anna had called him and asked him to meet her for breakfast. She had told him that she had finished reviewing the evidence that Natalie had collected.

"I'm sorry John, but Natalie was lying. There's no way that Marty could have killed Eddie. The evidence suggests that it was Todd Manning."

"That bastard...I'm not going to let him get away with pinning his crimes on her," John shouted as he stood up from the table.

"John, where are you going?" Anna asked.

"I'm going to Todd's so that I can kill him."

"No you're not. That's not going to help anything for anybody especially Marty. You need to let the law handle this...let's go see Nora and see if we can officially charge Todd," Anna stated as she grabbed John's hand as they walked out of the Metrocourt Restaurant.

XOXOXO

"What's wrong?" Todd asked as Marty ran out of the bathroom.

"Nothing," Marty stated as she looked back at the bathroom door half expecting Eddie to follow her.

"Don't tell me nothing's wrong...you look pale and tell me what has you running scared so that I can fix it."

"I was raped...you can't fix that...nobody can. I'm never going to be free of Eddie," Marty whimpered.

"Yes you will...you are stronger then you think you are and although I can't change what happened to you, I'm going to promise you that you will survive it," Todd said as he held his arms open for her. He desperately wanted to comfort her and hold her in his arms, but the next step had to be hers.

Marty slowly walked into Todd's arms where the fear slowly left her as Todd wrapped his arm's around her.

XOXOXO

"Nora, we need to talk about Todd,"John said as he entered her office with Anna by his side.

"Oh god...what did he do now?" Nora asked.

"He killed Eddie Ford."

"I thought that Marty killed him. She confessed."

"She didn't do it Nora...the evidence just doesn't support her statement."

"Wait a minute, the evidence that I have here from CSI supports Marty's statement and now telling me that it doesn't. What's going on John?"

"Natalie doctored that evidence to make it look like Marty was guilty."

"Are you certain of that?"

"We're positive Nora, I double checked the evidence a few times," Anna explained.

"Can we get a warrant to arrest Todd?" John asked.

"This case is a mess...we have two different confessions with evidence that supports each confession. Once Tea gets wind of the doctored evidence, she will suggest that all of the evidence gets thrown out. I don't think that I can press charges and make them stick against anybody at this point."

"Not even with Marty's testimony?" John asked.

"I'll get a judge to sign off on Todd's arrest warrant, but you have twenty four hours to get the truth out of Marty or we'll have to let him go," Nora explained.

XOXOXO

"Marty, it feels like you're running a fever, maybe we should take you to the hospital," Todd said as he held her in his arms.

"No, I'm okay...I just want to stay here with you."

"Okay, but I'm taking you on up to bed and if you get any worse, then I'm taking you to the hospital," Todd said as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Will you stay and hold me while I fall asleep?" Marty asked as he laid her in the bed.

"Of course," Todd replied as he climbed into bed beside her. He held her in his arms as he talked about their dream place on the beach until she was sleeping soundly.

"Good night Marty," he whispered as he turned out the lights.

XOXOXO

"I love you so much Marty," Todd whispered as he closed his eyes.

_He was on his dream island. The waves were crashing around him and the warmth was soothing to his skin._

He looked around knowing that she would be there. She was always there. She was what had always made the place perfection. He saw her playing in the water and she was smiling.

"Todd, come and play in the water with me," Marty called.

I headed over to her and wrapped my arms around her.

"I love you Todd," she said as she kissed him. 

XOXOXO

John knocked on the door, but once again there was no response. He turned the handle and let himself and Anna in. They headed upstairs and walked into the bedroom.

John felt waves of jealousy as he saw Marty wrapped up tightly in Todd's arms. He should be the one holding her.

"Get the hell away from her Manning," John grunted.

"McBain? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to arrest you, now get up before I make you get up."

"John, please don't do this," Marty pleaded as she cried.

"Todd you're under arrest for the murder of Eddie Ford," John stated as he roughly grabbed Todd by the arms and placed the handcuffs around his wrists.


	9. Chapter 9

Marty called Tea as she drove to the police station. She filled Tea in on Todd's arrest and told her that she would meet her at the station.

Marty slammed her car door when she got out. She was tired, frustrated and angry as hell and she was determined to give John a piece of her mind.

"John, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Marty asked as she stormed into his office.

"Manning's guilty...I think we both know that and he deserves to pay for all the shit that he's pulled. What I want to know is how could you sleep with him after all the shit he's done to you?"

"My relationship with Todd is none of your business John."

"You will always be my business and I need you to tell me the truth about what happened to Eddie so that I can make sure that Todd doesn't continue to hurt you."

"I'm sorry John, but I can't help you. I can't be forced to testify against my husband."

"What? You married him after he's raped you twice? What the hell is wrong with you?" John asked as he grabbed her roughly by the arms and shook her.

Marty let out a pained cry as images of Eddie bombarded her mind.

"Let her go detective before I file a law suit against this whole department," Tea said as she entered his office.

"I'm sorry Marty. i didn't mean to hurt you, I'm just so frustrated. Why would you marry him?"

"Because I love him," Marty whispered as she tried to calm her nerves.

"Detective, I just found out that all of the evidence in this case has been compromised and without Marty's statement you have nothing. I suggest that you release my client," Tea ordered.

As much as John hated it, he knew that Tea was right. "We won't be pressing any charges. Your client can go home."

"Thank you detective," Tea stated.

XOXOXO

"Thanks for everything you did to get me released Marty," Todd said as soon as they had gotten into the car.

"I want to take you out and celebrate. Will you...will you go out with me?" Todd asked Marty.

"Of course I will," Marty said.

Todd drove Marty to the palace hotel and they ate dinner over candlelight.

"Marty...I just wanted to tell you that having you in my corner means the world to me. I know that it couldn't have been easy for you to marry me after all of the pain that I've caused you, but you did and I will never forget all that you sacrificed to help me."

"It wasn't a sacrifice Todd. I'm exactly where I want to be and I want you to know that I don't regret marrying you."

"Will you dance with me?" Todd asked as soft orchestral music continued to play in the background.

"Yes...I want to dance with you. I'll try," Marty said as she stood up and placed her hand in Todd's.

He placed his hands around Marty's waist. He could feel her trembling as she laid her head on his chest as they swayed to the music.

"Let's go home," Todd whispered after they had shared a couple of dances with one another.

When they got home Todd carried her to their bedroom and climbed into bed wrapping his arms around her. He described their dream place as they drifted off to sleep.

XOXOXO

_Marty heard the faint crying of a baby...her baby coming from the nursery._

She could sense that something wasn't right as she opened up the nursery door. She looked in the bassinet but there was nothing and she was filled with dread as she tried to listen for the baby's cries.

She looked up when she heard the bedroom door slam shut and saw Eddie carrying her baby boy.

"Get away from him," Marty cried out.

"It's too late, I've already tainted his soul. He's evil inside like me and when he grows up he will rape some innocent girl just the way that I did you," he said as he smiled at her.

"Please just go away..." Marty pleaded.

"I can't...I'm the boys father and as long as he is with you, then I will be with you," Eddie said as he placed the baby in the cradle.

Marty tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Where do you think you're going...I'm not done with you yet," he said as he grabbed her roughly and planted a kiss of poison on her. 

Marty woke up...she was covered in sweat and was trembling. Eddie was right...she would never be free of him as long as she carried his baby inside of her.

She slowly lifted Todd's arms off of her and got out of bed. She quietly dressed in the dark and went downstairs.

She pulled up abortion clinics on the computer and jotted down the address and left. She needed to do this before she changed her mind. It was the only way that she would ever be free of the nightmares.

XOXOXO

"Natalie, it's John open up the door, I need to talk to you," he slurred as he banged on the door with his fists.

"John, it's four in the morning. Are you drunk?" She asked him as he staggered into her apartment.

"Not enough."

"John go home and sleep it off."

"Not until we have this out."

"Have what out?"

"I know that you doctored the evidence to make it look like Marty was guilty. We have proof that your uncle Todd was the killer but because of you we can't use it. He's out there free to hurt Marty because of your actions and I want to know why Natalie? Why would you try to incriminate her?"

"She kidnapped Liam and she never had to pay for that. She's a dangerous, psychotic woman, but despite everything that she did to hurt me...you still love her."

"She was sick Natalie...she had a nervous breakdown. I left her so that I could be with you after she lost our child. That was the worst decision that I've ever made so if you want to blame anybody for Liam's kidnapping then you blame me and leave Marty out of it."

"So Martyr's always going to get a pass from you?"

"Yeah she is because I love her and you...I don't even know you anymore. You make me sick and I promise that you're going to pay for sabotaging my investigation."

"What are you going to do John? Does Nora know what I did?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure if she's going to press charges against you, but either way you'll be out of the job. I hope that it was worth it," John stated as he left slamming the door behind him.

XOXOXO

John stumbled into Rodi's and saw Tea Delgado sitting at the bar knocking back shot after shot of Tequila.

"Rough morning Counselor? Or are you out celebrating Todd's freedom?" John asked as he sat next to her.

"I was just doing my job John, but celebrating is the last thing that I feel like doing especially since Marty is sharing Todd's bed," Tea said in-between hiccups and then she downed another shot of Tequila.

"Don't...Marty and Todd are not sleeping together," John said as he winced in pain at the thought. He picked up one of Tea's shot glasses and downed it as fast as he could wanting to get the image of Marty out of his head and out of his heart.

"It doesn't matter if they're sleeping together or not. He loves her and will always put her first. I don't even know why I thought that I had a chance with Todd it will always be Marty for him."

"Who cares about how Todd feels for her...he's poison to her."

"She loves him too...you know that don't you? She wouldn't have sacrificed so much to defend him if there wasn't a part of her that didn't love him," Tea explained.

"I know...that's what makes this so hard. I love her and I messed things up with her and now she's given her heart to Todd and I've lost her," John said as he picked up another shot glass and drank it.

"Why don't you walk me home John and I'll help you forget all about Marty and you can help me forget about Todd?" Tea offered.

"I'm not sure that it will work, but it's worth a shot," John said as he threw some money on the Bar table, grabbed Tea's hand and walked out with her.

XOXOXO

Todd woke up and realized that Marty wasn't next to him.

"Marty," he called out but there was no response.

He went to the bathroom so that he could pee when he saw a pregnancy stick in the garbage.

"Oh god..," he said to himself as he realized that Marty was pregnant.

He finished going to the bathroom and then went downstairs to see if Marty had taken his car.

"Damnit, Marty.. Where did you go?" He asked as he saw that his car keys were gone.

He headed into his office so that he could find the phone number for the limo service that he used from time to time. He paused when he saw the list of abortion clinics.

*Please let me find Marty in time* Todd thought to himself as he called for a limo driver.

XOXOXO

"Do you have any questions before we get started?" The doctor asked as he came into the room.

"No, just get it over with," Marty whispered as she turned her head away so that he wouldn't see her crying.


	10. Chapter 10

"What do you got to drink?" John asked as he stumbled into the hotel room after Tea.

"Haven't you had enough to drink?" Tea asked.

"Not enough to make me forget Marty."

"I thought that was my job tonight."

"It is...but I thought if I mixed you with drinking, that would do the trick."

"We have Tequila," Tea said as she grabbed the bottle out of the fridge.

"That will work. Let 's go to your room and do body shots," John said as he grabbed Tea's hand.

Tea and John removed their clothes as soon as they entered the room.

"Make me forget Todd," Tea whispered as she laid down on the bed.

"Only if you make me forget Marty," he said as he poured a drizzle of Tequila from her breasts down to her vagina.

He ran his tongue across her bare skin, stopping to suck her Tequila covered breasts. He pumped his finger in and out of her as he sucked all of the alcohol off of her nipples.

He continued to kiss the trail down to her vagina. He pushed his tongue into her until she was close to cumming and then he retracted.

"Please John, I need to feel you inside of me."

"I know," John whispered.

He sank himself into her as he kissed her passionately. He moved in and out of her until they were screaming each other's names as they caused each other the ultimate pleasure.

John and Tea fell asleep as they held onto one another.

XOXOXO

Todd ran into the abortion clinic as soon as the Limo came to a stop.

"Marty...what room is Marty Saybrooke in?" Todd asked the receptionist as he entered the clinic.

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't give out that information."

"You're completely useless to me. I'll find her myself," Todd shouted as he began to open the doors one by one until he saw Marty lying on an examination table.

"Am I too late?" Todd asked as she looked into her eyes.

XOXOXO

"Am I too late?" Todd asked as he came into the room.

"Todd? What are you doing here?" Marty asked.

"I found your pregnancy stick in the bathroom garbage and then I saw a link for this site on the computer. Am I too late? Did you have the abortion?" Todd asked.

"I know that I should have, but I couldn't not after hearing it's tiny heart beat. What am I going to do? Maybe I should place the baby up for adoption...maybe it's the only way that I'll be free of Eddie."

"Forget Eddie...What do you want to do?"

"I want to keep this child, but What kind of life will they have with the stigma of being a product of rape hanging over them?" Marty asked as she began to cry.

"Maybe they won't have to find out. We could tell this child that I am his or her father."

"You would really do that?"

"I would do absolutely anything for you Marty. Do you want me to be the father?"

"I would like that very much."

"Okay Marty...let's go home," Todd said as he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the clinic.

XOXOXO

Tea woke up laying wrapped up in John McBain's arms. She had a massive headache and a fuzzy memory about how John had ended up in her bed.

She knew from the heady scent in the room and the fact that they were still naked that they had sex.

"Hey...did we?" John asked as he opened his eyes and saw Tea staring at him.

"Yeah, I think we did. I don't really remember much from last night, do you?"

"Not really...although, I do remember feeling happy for the first time in a long time. I guess I have you to thank for that," John said as he smiled at her.

"So...no regrets?"

"Not from me. Do you have any?"

"No, I think I had fun last night. I'm going to go take a shower, do you want to join me?" Tea asked as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip.

"Hell yeah," John stated as he climbed out of bed.

XOXOXO

Todd drove Marty home and carried her up to their bed.

"Marty, why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant?" Todd asked as he climbed into bed beside her.

"I was scared," Marty admitted.

"You were scared of me?" Todd asked. He felt crushed at her admission. He had worked hard to change his life around and the last thing that he wanted was for Marty to be afraid of him.

"I wasn't scared of you...I was scared to say it out loud. I didn't want to think about it and I just wanted it to go away. I just wanted to get rid of the problem before anybody found out about it, but I was wrong. This child isn't a problem, he or she is proof that something good can come out of something so awful. Thank you so much for agreeing to be the father of this child."

"Your child is a miracle Marty and I'm going to love him or her because they're yours," Todd said as he placed his hand on her stomach.

"I love you Todd," Marty whispered as she closed her eyes.

*Did Marty just tell me that she loves me? Maybe there's hope for us after all,* Todd thought as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you too Marty," he whispered in her ear as he closed his eyes.

XOXOXO

John followed Tea into the bathroom as he thought of all the naughty things he wanted to do to her.

Tea started the warm water and climbed in. She let the warm water wash over her flesh as John stepped in behind her. He grabbed her waist and pushed himself into her petite ass.

"Oh," Tea exclaimed with surprise. "You sure don't waste any time, do you Mcbain?"

"Not when I know what I want," he whispered in her ear as he reached his hand around to her vagina and began toying with her clit.

"Mmmmm," Tea moaned as John's fingers touched her in all the right spots.

"Teeeaaaa," John shouted as he brought them both to ecstasy.

XOXOXO

_You're nothing but my whore...you deserve this, Eddie whispered as he brought the blade of his knife and slashed her face. It hurt so badly, but she couldn't move and she couldn't overpower him._

He pushed himself into her as he pressed the bloody blade across her throat. He thrusted into her for what seemed like hours and then he finally released himself into her.

"I'll be back baby...you're mine for all eternity," he taunted as he laughed.

"Please just leave me alone," Marty whimpered.

"If you want me to leave then you'll have to be the one to kill me," he whispered in her ear. 

Marty scrambled off the bed and far away from him when she realized that he was still laying by her side. She snuck down the stairs and headed to Todd's safe. She took a chance and entered her birthday into the lock and it opened.

She pulled out his handgun. He would never hurt her again...she would protect herself against him no matter what.


	11. Chapter 11

John soaped up Tea's body and washed her hair. He pushed the shampoo bottle up her ass and thrusted in and out of her as the water rinsed the soap out of their hair.

When they were finished John wrapped Tea up in a bathrobe and carried her to the bedroom and gently laid Tea down on the bed.

"Tea, I need to-" Blair began to say as she walked into her bedroom.

"What's going on here?" Blair asked.

"John's helping me forget Todd and I'm helping him forget Marty. What's wrong Blair?" Tea asked.

"I just found out that Todd married Marty. Can you two help me get over Todd as well?" Blair asked in desperation.

XOXOXO

Todd woke up and realized that Marty wasn't in bed beside him. He climbed out of bed and headed down the stairs to find her. He paused as he saw her clutching his gun like a security blanket.

"Marty, what are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm never going to let you hurt me again," she shouted at him as she raised the gun and pointed it at him.

"I would never hurt you," Todd said.

"You raped me."

"That was a long time ago...I thought that you had forgiven me. I thought that I had proven to you that I had changed," Todd said as his voice broke and tears clouded his eyes.

"You would have killed me if Todd hadn't have shown up and stabbed you. Tonight I will kill you so that you'll never be able to hurt me again," Marty spat out.

"Marty, I need you to listen to me. You're having some kind of hallucination. I'm not Eddie, I'm Todd," he said as he took a step closer to her. He had to get the gun away from her before she hurt herself.

"You're a liar."

"I'm not lying. When I went to Ireland you gave me this necklace for bravery," Todd said as he pulled his necklace off and showed it to her. "I wear it always because you gave it to me. Please give me the gun," Todd pleaded with her as he placed his hand around hers.

"Todd," Marty chocked out as Eddie disappeared and she saw Todd standing before her. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered as she let him take the gun away from her.

"It's okay Marty...you're safe now...I'm going to take care of you," he said as he embraced her. Her skin felt like it was on fire and she was shivering in his arms. He picked her up and carried her out to his car.

"Where are we going?" Marty asked.

"You have a fever and you've been hallucinating. I'm taking you to the hospital," Todd explained.

XOXOXO

"We will do our best to help you forget Todd," Tea said as she climbed off the bed and went to Blair, "but first we need to get you out of your clothes," she said as she lifted Blair's shirt up over her head.

She unbuttoned her pants and slid them slowly down Blair's legs while Blair removed her bra. When she was naked Tea grabbed her hand and led them to the bed.

"What do you want to do?" John said.

"I want you to fuck me as hard as you can while I eat Tea out," Blair said as she smiled. She was already starting to feel better.

Blair laid down on the bed and Tea squatted over her face. She licked and teased her clit with her tongue as John climbed on top of her and slid deep inside. He thrusted in and out, faster and harder as Blair continued to pleasure Tea with her mouth until all three of them had released themselves in one orgasmic bliss.

XOXOXO

"Somebody help me!" Todd shouted as he carried Marty into the hospital. She had lost consciousness on the way and her skin felt like pure fire to Todd.

"What happened?" Doctor Kyle Lewis asked as he approached Todd.

"We were sleeping and when we woke up she was having some kind of hallucination. She's burning up...you have to help her.

"I was afraid that this might happen, especially when she never picked up her meds," Kyle said as Todd carried her into exam one and laid her on the table.

"What Meds? Meds for her Lupus?" Todd asked.

"I really need some space to examine Marty, please wait outside," Kyle said as he motioned to a nurse to show him out.

Todd couldn't just wait...he had to do something and in order to do that, he needed to know everything that was wrong with her. He waited until the nurse left her post and then he borrowed Marty's hospital chart and opened the file.

He gasped as he realized that she was HIV-positive. He felt so sick and so angry with himself that he hadn't stopped Eddie before he attacked her. He placed the chart back in it's place and took his anger out against the wall in the waiting room.

XOXOXO

Todd's fist began to bleed as he continued to pound it against the wall in the waiting room.

"Mr. Manning you have to pull yourself together for Marty's sake," Doctor Kyle Lewis stated as he walked in the room.

"How is she? How's Marty?" Todd asked as he turned around and looked at Kyle.

"She has a pretty severe kidney infection and she's showing symptoms of PTSD. I'm going to admit her for a couple of days and I've called her Psychiatrist Doctor Ray Martinez and he'll be by in the morning," Doctor Evans explained as he wrapped Todd's hand.

"Can I...can I see her?" Todd asked.

"Of course."

"Thanks," Todd said as he walked away.

Todd entered Marty's hospital room and she was connected to all of these machines...she looked so fragile and beautiful. He slowly slid beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Todd...what happened?" Marty asked as she looked down at his bandaged hand.

"I was frustrated and angry so I picked a fight with the wall...the wall won."

"I'm sorry that I pointed the gun at you tonight. I was confused."

"I'm not angry about that. Marty, why haven't you been taking your meds? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Marty asked.

"I know that your HIV Positive," Todd explained.

"I don't know...I didn't want you to see me as contaminated."

"I could never see you that way. Marty, it's not your fault that you're sick. I will always love you. Promise me that there will be no more secrets."

"I promise," Marty said as she rested her head against Todd's chest and fell asleep as he played with her hair.


	12. Chapter 12

John woke up entangled with Blair and Tea. He didn't want to get out of bed, but he was hungry. He slowly climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen. He grabbed the bananna's off the counter and the cucumbers out of the fridge and he headed up the stairs as he thought up a kinky way that he could enjoy his breakfast even more.

When he opened the door he saw Tea and Blair fondling one another as they kissed.

"Hey, wait for me," he said as he climbed on the bed.

"What do you have there?" Blair asked.

"A snack...lay down and open up wide," John said as he grabbed the banana and unpeeled it. Once Blair was laying down, John pushed the banana in and out of her as she squealed with delight.

"What about me?" Tea asked with jealousy flashing in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I brought something for you as well. Lay down and I'll pleasure you both at the same time," John said as he grabbed the cucumber with his other hand and inserted it in and out of Tea.

After they both had reached ecstasy, John pulled the banana and Cucumber out of them and they all three enjoyed their morning snack.

XOXOXO

The next morning Marty felt a peace that she hadn't felt in a long time as she woke up in Todd's arms. He looked so beautiful as he slept next to her and she felt overwhelmed by her feelings for him and before she knew it she was kissing him.

Todd stared at Marty with wonderment as he opened up his eyes and wondered if he was still dreaming as her tongue rubbed up against his own.

"Marty?" He whispered as their passionate kiss ended and he realized that it hadn't been a dream. "Are you okay? What was that?"

"I don't want to talk I just want to feel," Marty said as she kissed him again.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think that we have a lot to discuss," Doctor Ray Martinez said as he cleared his throat.

"Yeah..." Todd said as he pulled away from Marty. "I'll leave you two alone. I'm going for a walk to clear my head," Todd said as he stared into Marty's eyes for some kind of answer to all of the questions, doubts, and fears that was bombarding him.

"Todd, don't go far...I would like to talk to you after my session with Marty," Doctor Ray Martinez said as Todd headed out the door.

"So Marty...I see that you and Todd have grown closer. How do you feel about him? Do you love him?" Ray asked.

XOXOXO

"Todd, what are you doing here so early?" Vicki asked as she opened the door.

"I really need to talk to you. I don't know what to do...it looks like I've gotten the one thing that I've ever really wanted, but I'm scared shitless and I don't what I should do?" Todd ranted as he paced around the living room.

"Todd, slow down, take a deep breath and tell me calmly and rationally what this is all about," Vicki said as she poured them both a cup of tea.

"It's about Marty...she kissed me this morning," Todd admitted as he grabbed the cup of tea from his sister.

"Marty...I thought this might have something to do with her. I heard that the two of you got married, so I take it that the marriage is turning out to be more real than you ever imagined it would," Vicki stated.

"I love her Vicki...I always have and I probably always will, I want a real marriage with her. I've always wanted her to love me too, but it's to good to be true. It's a fantasy that will eventually come crashing down."

"What if it's not a fantasy? Would it really be all that bad if you and Marty found love and forgiveness after all these years? Vicki asked.

"The problem is that I don't deserve her. I'm not the kind of man that she deserves. I hurt her Vicki and I can't ever take that back. I destroyed her life so my punishment should be what it's always been, to watch her with others, knowing that I can never have her. I should just leave Llanview and leave Marty before I hurt her again."

"You've changed and Marty knows that you have changed otherwise she wouldn't have married you and she most certainly wouldn't have kissed you."

"What if I haven't changed? What if that monster still exists inside of me?"

"He doesn't...he hasn't existed in you for a very long time. I believe in you and Marty believes in you and I think it's time that you believe in yourself."

"What should I do Vicki?"

"I think that you need to talk to Marty and follow your heart."

"I know...I better get going, I promised Marty I'd bring her breakfast. Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime," Vicki replied as she showed him out the door.

XOXOXO

"Do you love him?" Ray repeated when Marty didn't answer him.

"Yes...no...I don't know," Marty stated.

"We need to talk about what he did to you," Ray stated.

"Todd didn't do anything to me," Marty said as she turned her head to look out the window.

"Yes he did...he hurt you, he raped you." Ray stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Todd would never rape me, he saved me," Marty said as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Yes he did, but he also hurt you. I think that you've chosen to block it out because you're traumatized by being raped again. I think that you've blocked out every bad thing that Todd has ever done to you so that you don't have to deal with the fact that you've fallen in love with a man that violated you in the worst possible way."

"I don't want to hear any more of this. I don't know why you're lying to me, but I know the truth."

"Then what happened the night of the Spring Fling?" Ray encouraged, hoping that he could break through her delusions.

"Nothing happened...I didn't go to that stupid party and I don't want to hear any more of your vicious lies about Todd," Marty said as she placed her hands over her ears and began to hum loudly.

"What's going on?" Todd asked as he entered the room.

"Todd I need to speak to you out in the hall now," Ray said as he stood up and walked out into the hallway.

"What is it Ray? Is this about the kiss that you walked in on?" Todd asked as Ray shut the door to Marty's room.

"Yeah it's about that dam kiss. She's sick Todd and she doesn't need you taking advantage of her."

"I wasn't...I would never take advantage of her. She kissed me...I just kissed her back," Todd explained.

"Do you love her?" Ray asked.

"You know that I do."

"Then stop this fantasy that the two of you have been living in and tell her that you raped her the night of the Spring Fling."

"Marty knows what happened the night of the Spring Fling."

"No, she's blocked it out and has refused to talk about that night with me. She's adamant that you never raped her," Ray explained.

XOXOXO

"Marty's adamant that you never raped her. She insists that she never went to the Spring Fling Party at all," Ray explained.

"What? She has to remember what I did to her."

"I think that deep down inside she does, but she's choosing to block it out because the fact that she has fallen in love with somebody who has hurt her...it's just to much for her to deal with."

"What should I do?" Todd asked.

"You need to tell her Todd. She's not going to listen to me, but she may listen to you."

"I don't know if I can hurt her again by forcing memories of that night on her," Todd stated.

"You have to...the longer she lives in denial the more she's going to hurt when the truth comes out, and the truth always comes out Todd. If you love her the way that I think you do, then you'll tell her before her feelings for you grow any deeper," Ray stated then he took off leaving Todd alone with his thoughts.

XOXOXO

"What were you and Ray talking about for so long?" Marty asked as Todd drove her home.

"It was nothing really, he's just concerned about you."

"Well he doesn't have to be...I'm happier than I've been in a long time and it's all because of you."

"That's great Marty," Todd stated as he smiled at her. He couldn't do it...he just couldn't hurt her when she was so happy.

Todd grabbed Marty's hand and helped her out of the car. He escorted her upstairs.

"You look tired, maybe you should take a nap," Todd suggested.

"I'd much rather spend time with you," Marty said as she leaned into him and kissed him.

"Marty? What are we doing?" Todd whispered as the kiss faded.

"I love you Todd. You saved me and you've helped me so much these past few weeks. I want to show you how much I love you, I want to make love to you," Marty said as she kissed him again.

XOXOXO

Todd felt so torn as he kissed Marty. Being with her was his greatest desire, but he also was so afraid that if he didn't tell her the truth then he would hurt her all over again.

"Marty, we need to talk," Todd stated as he pulled away from the kiss.

"What's wrong Todd? Don't you want to make love to me?" Marty asked.

"I do more than anything, but it wouldn't be right until you remember what happened between us the night of the Spring Fling," Todd explained.

"Not this again...nothing happened because I didn't go to that stupid party," Marty ranted.

"I'm sorry Marty, I know that the truth hurts but we can't live in denial...that just won't work. You were at that party and I raped you."

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Marty asked.

"Because I lied to you about that night once and when you found out the truth you said that I emotionally raped you and you were right. I didn't mean to hurt you back then but pretending that our past didn't exist was the only way that I thought that we could be together, but that was so wrong of me and I won't hurt you again even if that means that we can never be together."

"What happened the night of the Spring Fling?" Marty asked as she sat on the bed.

"I initially wanted to humiliate you the way that I felt that you had humiliated me. I brought a blow up doll downstairs to the party."

"I remember...I was so angry when I saw you with that stupid doll that we got in a huge fight and I told you that you were lousy in bed."

"Yeah, we both had a lot to drink that night and Kevin took you to his room to sleep it off. I felt angry, humiliated and rejected and I wanted you to know how that felt so I took Zach, and Powell up to the room."

"You all took turns dancing with me and you spun me around in a chair. I was so sick and all I wanted to do was sleep, but you wouldn't let me. You were laughing as I pleaded with you to leave me alone."

"But we didn't leave you alone. I told Powell to lock the door. I pushed you onto the bed. I pinned you down and I raped you. If that wasn't bad enough. I goaded and taunted Zach and Powell into raping you as well while I watched them continue to torture you," Todd explained as he cried.

"Marty, I'm so sorry," Todd stated after minutes of silence.

"You should be," Marty whispered as she slapped Todd as hard as she could.

XOXOXO

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that," Marty whispered as she backed away from Todd.

"It's okay, I deserved that and so much more after the way that I hurt you. I don't blame you for hating me because I hate myself and I would go back and change things if I could."

"I know and you're right...I do hate you, but I also love you. I wish that I didn't...things would be so much easier if I could just hate you, but I don't. These past three weeks you've been so gentle, patient and amazing and I don't think I could have survived without you. I love you, but I don't know if that's enough to override all the pain and anguish that you've caused me over the years. I need time away from you while I figure things out. I'll get my things and go," Marty stated as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"No, don't go. I'll go...this is your home now and I want you to stay here."

"Where will you go?" Marty asked.

"I'll stay with Vicki for a few weeks. Marty...I love you too and I want you to know that I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving and protecting you whether we're together or not."

Marty sat on the bed and cried as Todd packed a bag with his belongings.

"Take care Marty," Todd whispered as he headed out.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm craving a burger from Rodi's," Blair said as her stomach began to growl.

"It's four in the morning," Tea stated as she kissed Blair.

"I know, but all of this kinky sex has left me starving."

"I'm hungry as well. Let's go to Rodi's and I'll satisfy your craving," John said as he climbed out of bed.

"I think that Rodi's is closed," Blair pointed out.

"It is, but it's a good thing that you're sleeping with the owner. Let's go, I've always wanted to fuck at Rodi's and there isn't any reason we can't merge your craving with mine," He said as he slapped her ass.

XOXOXO

Vicki climbed out of bed as she heard the persistent knocking on her door. She wrapped the bathrobe around her and headed downstairs.

"Todd, what's wrong?" She asked as she opened the door and saw him standing out in the rain.

"Can I crash here for a couple of weeks?" Todd asked as he stepped inside.

"Of course, but what happened? Did you and Marty get into a fight?"

"Sort of...she was blocking out our past and tonight, I told her what I did to her the night of the Spring Fling...she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you Todd, she hates what you did."

"What I did is who I am."

"No, you've changed and she knows that. Just give her some time to sort out her feelings."

"Do you think that she'll ever be able to forgive me?" Todd asked.

"She loves you and with love there can be forgiveness. Just get some rest, things will look better in the morning."

XOXOXO

Marty couldn't sleep, every time she closed her eyes she saw Eddie hovering over her. She felt frightened being in this big house all alone and she missed Todd.

She climbed out of bed when she heard somebody knocking on the front door.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" Marty asked as she opened the door and saw her oldest and dearest friend.

"Todd called me...he told me that you could use a friend. What's wrong?" Jason asked as he walked in and gave her a hug.

"Everything, I love Todd...maybe I've loved him all along, but I don't know if that's enough," Marty said as she closed the door. They walked into the living room and sat on the couch.

"That's everything Marty. For the record I don't think that Todd deserves you, but it's not about what I think. If you love him then you need to forgive him so that you both can move on from that night and be happy."

"I don't know if I can."

"Of course you can, you're one of the strongest individuals that I've ever known and I know that you can put that night behind you. I'm going to ask you a few questions and I just want you to say the first thing that comes to your mind without thinking about it."

"Ok."

"Are you afraid of Todd?"

"No."

"Do you think that he is capable of hurting you again?"

"No."

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes"

"Do you hate him?"

"No"

"Do you love him?"

"Yes"

"Have you forgiven him?"

"Yes."

"Did you hear that Marty? You've already forgiven Todd, in here where it counts," Jason explained as he grabbed her hand and placed it over her heart. "You just need to stop over analyzing every emotion that you feel or you're going to sabotage your happiness with Todd."

"You're right Jason. Will you give me a ride to Vicki's?"

"Of course," Jason said. Marty grabbed her coat and left with Jason.

They were on their way to Vicki's when Jason had to unexpectedly swerve to avoid hitting a deer. He lost control over the car as they hit a patch of black ice and the car began to spin out of control. Marty screamed as she saw the bright lights of another vehicle headed straight for them.


End file.
